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Japan Times
JAPAN / Deep Dive
Jul 26, 2018

Sushi's balancing act: Tradition versus adaptation

For leading food critic Masuhiro Yamamoto, sushi is part food, part theater, a dining experience unique among Japanese culinary traditions. From the closed-off tuna auctions of Tsukiji to the chefs who meticulously craft morsels of fish for loyal customers, each player has a role to play in this carefully...
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 3, 2020

Chefs vs scientists: France's pandemic fight to keep eating out

In France and around the world, business owners have pushed back against curbs sought by scientists to slow the COVID-19 pandemic.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jan 25, 2011

Family restaurants falling from flavor

Family-style restaurants are feeling the squeeze as diners increasingly opt for meals more on the cheap, such as under-¥300 "gyudon" bowls of beef on rice and "bento" boxed lunches below ¥500.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 17, 2020

Restaurant industry unlikely to look the same even after outbreak subsides

American restaurants, battling for survival amid the coronavirus, are starting to ask the question: Even when the lockdown lifts, how do we lure back skittish diners? Their margin for error is very small.
JAPAN / 50 YEARS SINCE SAN FRANCISCO
Aug 30, 2001

American-style peace redefines Japanese palate

Fortunately, the GIs had something in their pockets and backpacks that led to instant friendship with total strangers: the Hershey chocolate bar.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Apr 25, 2021

Seth Sulkin: 'Having risk-averse banks with risk-averse venture capitalists makes success extremely difficult in Japan'

The CEO of commercial real estate development firm Pacifica Capital highlights the importance of switching lanes when external circumstances change.
Japan Times
JAPAN / FOCUS
Nov 26, 2014

Tabelog.com's customer-generated restaurant reviews prompt food fight

By getting diners to post over 5.9 million reviews of nearly 800,000 eateries, Tabelog has brought unprecedented transparency to one of the world's best dining scenes. It has also infuriated chefs and owners along the way.
JAPAN
Aug 25, 2010

Theme restaurants work some magic

A ninja takes you through a dark narrow path, serves you food and drink and performs magic in a restaurant in Tokyo's Akasaka district where the likes of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and famed film director Steven Spielberg have dined.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 2, 2023

At the World's 50 Best Restaurant awards, Central's win is a win for the world

The ultimate victory by Central represents a welcome change of flavor for the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list.
Customers visit a grilled eel store in Meguro Ward, Tokyo, on Saturday.
JAPAN
Jul 30, 2023

People line up for grilled eel on the Day of the Ox in Japan

Japan has a tradition of eating nutritious grilled eels, believed to be good for restoring energy, on the midsummer Day of the Ox.
The Chairman's steamed flower crab with aged Shaoxing wine and chicken oil
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 5, 2023

Seeking 'the perfect combination of Chinese and French cuisine'

Chefs Daniel Calvert and Danny Yip are old friends, but for the first time this month, they're collaborators.
The government plans to raise the retirement age of drivers of privately owned cabs to 80, from 75 currently, as rural areas in particular suffer from an acute shortage of transportation for the elderly.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 4, 2023

Expanding labor shortage pushes Japan to find new ways to fill jobs

Companies have been forced to come up with new ways to find labor and keep their operations running smoothly, sometimes with novel ideas.
A woman sits on a swing attached to a giant McDonald's sign outside its themed exhibition in Beijing on Monday.
BUSINESS
Dec 4, 2023

McDonald’s raises China bet amid Western derisking trend

The move contrasts sharply with the prevailing trend of multinational corporations reeling back investments in China or even exiting altogether.
Members-only Japanese sushi restaurant Sushi Namba and jazz bar lounge Listening Room will open in Miami next summer.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 7, 2023

Top Tokyo sushi chef brings unique flavors to Miami, members only

A $10,000 fee will give members access to monthly seats at the sushi counter, as well as the bar and jazz lounge.
Toshiya Ikehata (center) helps prepare rice balls at a community kitchen in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 7. Ikehata runs a fine-dining restaurant in the city, which was among the hardest-hit areas in the Noto Peninsula earthquake.
JAPAN
Jan 23, 2024

Shattered lives, unbroken spirits: Chefs step up to serve Noto communities

Fine-dining chefs rise to the challenge of feeding disaster victims in the hardest-hit areas of Ishikawa Prefecture.
Chef Natsuki Suzuki opened Naz in the fall of 2020 on the rural fringe of the resort town of Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Feb 11, 2024

Naz: Bounty from landlocked Nagano's rivers and pastures

Dining at Naz is like sitting down at a bespoke dinner club for a meal catered exclusively for you. And what a meal it is.
Major beef bowl chain Sukiya will introduce an additional 7% late night fee starting Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 30, 2024

Popular beef bowl chain Sukiya to introduce late night fees

The restaurants will from Wednesday charge an additional 7% to the bills of late-night customers coming between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
The creator of "hanetsuki gyōza" is Isao Yagi, and his restaurant, Nihao, can be found right on the border of Tokyo and Kawasaki in Ota Ward.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 14, 2024

How ‘winged’ gyōza took flight from a Tokyo suburb

I mistakenly thought these crispy delights had been around for as long as “gyōza” themselves, but their creator is alive and cooking today.
The seafood curry on Massif's dinner menu changes periodically. Right now, it features "asari" clams over noodles in a rich crab bisque that evokes strong Southeast Asian "laksa" influences.
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Apr 14, 2024

Even sans cherry blossoms, the Meguro River has a hit in Massif

From early morning eats to dinner options with low-intervention wines, it seems like Massif has all options covered.
When chef Ryohei Ikemi moved to Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, and opened Casa del Cibo in 2011, it was the first proper Italian restaurant in the city.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Apr 26, 2024

Casa del Cibo: A thriving jewel born from Tohoku’s harsh past

Chef Ryohei Ikemi will open dinner with a warming soup featuring vegetables from Aomori's Lake Towada and close with a local Kyogoku apple gelato.
Specializing in gastronomy-themed tours, Arigato Travel, founded and directed by Anne Kyle, was once a one-woman operation. Today, it counts more than 100 employees.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Apr 26, 2024

Anne Kyle: 'People want to know what life actually is like here’

The founder and CEO of Arigato Travel grew her business from a one-woman operation to a national outfit of more than 100 employees in a matter of years.
Chef Yusuke Murayama’s creative cuisine at Pas Mal spotlights the premium produce of Yamagata Prefecture.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Jun 8, 2024

Pas Mal: French cuisine spotlighting Yamagata’s premium produce

Chef Yusuke Murayama’s signature dessert is a framboise mousse the color of glossy lipstick rouge in the shape of a mouth.
With the vegan lifestyle becoming more popular in recent years, Japanese restaurants and inns have begun to offer more vegetarian options.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 4, 2024

Asking for food substitutions at a Japanese restaurant

If you're vegetarian, vegan or have some kind of allergy, then knowing how to ask about what you're eating is an essential skill to have.
Essentially ramen broken down into a few constituent parts, 'tsukemen' was the creation of a Tokyo chef in 1961.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 7, 2024

How Tokyo’s ‘deconstructed ramen’ became a national favorite

Like other twists on quintessential Japanese dishes, ‘tsukemen’ has a decidedly more modern origin than you might think.
Don't let anyone tell you that when it comes to legitimate Mexican food, Tokyo is a culinary desert.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Top 5
Jul 14, 2024

Tokyo’s top tacos dispel the ‘no good Mexican food’ myth

Whether a casual bite from a counter restaurant or a more elegant affair, Tokyo’s tacos do not skimp on variety.
Major Japanese restaurant chains posted solid earnings for the first half of the year or the quarter ended in June, as price increases boosted per-customer spending.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 15, 2024

Japanese restaurant chains post solid earnings

The chains successfully attracted customers after price increases by actively launching new menus and limited-time products.
At Sushi Kadowaki, a full list of New World wines offers a new way to enjoy a classic Japanese meal.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Kanpai Culture
Sep 1, 2024

To accompany your counter sushi, why not try a New World wine?

Chef Takatoshi Kadowaki isn't afraid to recommend a California wine to accompany your premium sushi dinner.
For one night in Tokyo last month, Daniel Calvert (left) and Quique Dacosta brought their wildly different culinary styles together into a remarkable service.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Oct 6, 2024

A meeting of Michelin minds at Tokyo's Sezanne

Daniel Calvert says no to most requests for pop-ups at two-Michelin-starred Sezanne — except when the chance to work with three-starred Quique Dacosta came up.
Originally from Hiroshima, chef Kenichi Nishi moved to Yaizu, Shizuoka Prefecture, to have better access to the top-flight seafood of Sasue Maeda.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Nov 17, 2024

Chisou Nishi Kenichi: Modern French with unrivaled Shizuoka seafood

When a chef relocates to be within walking distance of his favorite fishmonger, you know the fish must be truly special.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?